Gareth Southgate reacted to England’s Euro 2020 final defeat by insisting he is determined to lead his country to next year’s World Cup.
But while the FA are keen for him to sign an extended deal to manage England in Euro 2024, Southgate will take longer before determining his long-term future.
England’s 55-year wait for silverware continued after they lost to Italy on penalties but Southgate, who also led them to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, is determined to honour his current contract.
He said: “I want to take this team to Qatar. But also there's a lot to think through. It's not about finance in any way or commitment, I don't want to commit to anything longer than I should and I never want to outstay my welcome.
“It's amazing experience but to lead your country in these tournaments is takes its toll and I need a break now. I don't think now's an appropriate time to think about anything. I need some time to watch the [Italy] game again and reflect on the whole tournament.”
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed their spot kicks in the shoot-out and were subjected to abuse, much of it racist, on social media. The FA issued a statement condemning it and Southgate branded it “unforgivable”.
He added: “We have been a beacon of light in bringing everyone together and the national team stands for everyone. That togetherness must continue. Bukayo, in particular, has been an absolute star in this tournament. He’s become a hugely popular member of the group.”
All of this team can go again, there is no doubt about that, but the young ones are two, three, four years from peaking
Gareth Southgate
Southgate also criticised the supporters responsible for violence in London on Sunday, saying: “We can’t control that. We can only set the example that we believe we should, and represent the country in the way we feel we should. Everybody has to remember when they support the team that they also represent England, and should represent what we stand for. The players have done that brilliantly. We have had a positive effect on a lot of areas of society but we can't influence everybody.”
The youngsters Saka and Sancho took spot kicks while Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish did not but the Aston Villa captain said he was keen to step forward while Southgate insisted he picked the takers. “It's not a case of players not volunteering or other experienced players backing out,” he said. “They didn't have the chance. That was my decision.”
Southgate argued that England’s record in recent years compares with those of any teams who have not won a tournament.
“We have had progress over the four years,” he said. “We have had a fourth place, a third place and a second place. For consistency, it is right up there but we know this team is not at its peak yet. All of this team can go again, there is no doubt about that, but the young ones are two, three, four years from peaking. We were against a team that had gone 30 games unbeaten, a team that’s probably a little bit ahead of us in their development and their progress.”
“We’ve got 18, 19, 20-year-olds who’ve done an incredible job and had a great insight into tournament football. There are a huge number of positives and those players will be far better for going through so many important wins, so many landmarks.
“Sometimes it’s easy to say things like, we can go on to Qatar now and win. It’s a bit glib, really. That doesn't guarantee winning because we know how difficult it is to get back to the state we've got on Sunday night. That's why it's so painful to get so close.”
Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals
2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis
2004 Beat Andy Roddick
2005 Beat Andy Roddick
2006 Beat Rafael Nadal
2007 Beat Rafael Nadal
2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal
2009 Beat Andy Roddick
2012 Beat Andy Murray
2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2015 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2017 Beat Marin Cilic
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
